On reading big books

Have you ever said "No, I'm not going to read that" because of the size? I know I have. I love reading longer and bigger books - but it takes time and sometimes I end up neglecting the bigger books. Well, I usually end up neglecting the bigger books - purely because they scare me.

I've found that bigger books are great for me since it takes me a while to choose a new book to read. If I read a big book I don't have to choose a new book for a longer period of time, so for me that's great! But reading these long books I've found that sometimes you need to prepare and have some things laying around to get the best out of it! So that's what this post is about, everything you need to know about reading big books!

Disclaimer: This is just some of the things I've found that works the best for me when I read big books, I'm not saying you have to do any of these things. It's merely suggestions and my personal habits.

Take notes

I usually take notes when I read big books, especially when it's a series! I always have a notebook and pen at hand since I find it's easier to remember different facts and characters if I write it down.
I also write summaries when I've finished the books. I hate not remembering and taking notes is the perfect way to remember everything you have to.

Don't read multiple books at once 

My best advice is probably to focus on the big book at hand. I don't recommend reading multiple books when one of them has 500+ pages! The best way to make sure you get the best experience you can, is to read the book from start to finish and not read any other books while reading your big book.
It's easier to remember facts and characters this way and I usually end up reading my big book faster this way since I'm totally immersed in the story

Set time aside

I don't recommend pushing yourself to finish the book within a week but maybe saying that you have to read a couple of chapters each day or set aside a couple of weeks to read it will be my suggestion.
Setting up a schedule could also be a great way, but make sure you don't push yourself to follow it - maybe make it a loose schedule?

Participate in readalongs

I think, personally, that readalongs is a perfect way to read your big books! It's a bit like my last advice or suggestion where you make a schedule. In readalongs you usually get a month to read the book and you get to talk to a bunch of other people who are also reading the book. It tends to make it easier to get through those bricks and it's also so nice to take part in something!
Sometimes there's schedules where you have to read 2 or 3 chapters each day and other times it's just 'try to finish it before the end of the month'.
You can also make your own readalong if you can't find any for the book you want to read. Just make sure you announce it in time - not the day before!

Don't do readathons

The worst thing I've ever done is to try to read these big books during readathons - it's such a bad idea. When you see other people finishing book after book and you're just sitting with the same book for the entire thing it's hard to continue!
I find that it's so much easier to just take your time when reading big books and enjoy the ride!

Make sure you're in the mood for the book 

Don't pick up a big book where you're unsure if you want to read it or not. Really make sure you want to take the time to finish it and that you actually want to read it before beginning. I've put down so many big books because I wasn't in the mood for them.

I've thought about trying to listen to a big book as an audiobook but I'm really not sure whether that's a good idea or not..

Do you have any advice or certain things you do when you read big books?